Welcome to the Hospitality Economy

Trends come and go, but people continue to want to feel cared for. A business that takes this need seriously can build lasting relationships with its employees and customers.

Unreasonable Hospitality means making a deliberate effort to connect with people and care for them kindly, beyond what they would normally expect. At Eleven Madison Park, helping employees and guests feel they belonged became central to the effort to make the restaurant great. To reach that goal, the team had to offer more care than people usually expected.

Service is Black and White; Hospitality is Color

Service means doing a job correctly and efficiently. Hospitality is about how the person receiving that service feels. Black and white stands for doing the job well. Color stands for the warmth people feel when someone takes a personal interest in them. Both matter, because doing a task correctly does not, by itself, make someone feel welcome.

Hiring starts with a genuine conversation. Instead of relying on an interview technique, get to know the person. Look for curiosity, honesty, strong principles, and interest in what the team is trying to achieve. Would the team respect this person? Would people enjoy spending their working days together?

That care needs to continue after someone is hired. A workplace that values hospitality asks:

• How can employees and customers feel noticed and valued?
• What helps them feel they belong?
• How can they feel part of something larger than themselves?
• What makes them feel welcome?

These questions matter outside restaurants, too. Companies can focus so much on their products that they forget about the people those products are meant to serve. It may be hard to measure the financial value of making someone feel cared for, but that care still matters to the business.

Will Guidara and his friend Anthony Rudolph founded the Welcome Conference so people committed to hospitality could share ideas and encourage one another. This community helped them get better at caring for people by learning together.

Hospitality also gives something back to the person offering it. Making others feel good is enjoyable in itself, so caring for people can become a pleasure rather than just another duty.